Founded in 1976, STIFF RECORDS was at the heart of the new wave, bringing the world artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, Kirsty MacColl and Ian Dury and what is generally regarded as the first ever punk rock single, “New Rose” by The Damned. The label set the yardstick for music business marketing, with artwork by Barney Bubbles and an array of memorable slogans, not least "If It Ain't Stiff, It Ain't Worth A Fuck". Stiff continues to this day, with the 2012 UK #1 single “Bom Bom” by Sam And The Womp and a back catalog comprising 150 singles and more than 50 albums of revered 70s and 80s pop, punk and rock.

This LIMITED EDITION 7” Box Set "Ten Big Stiffs" takes you on a tour of the Stiff catalog, and ) which includes ten 7-inch releases, all chosen by Stiff Records, featuring some of the most recognizable tracks from the label throughout the years: Tenpole Tudor's “Swords of a Thousand Men” (as heard in Aardman Animations' Pirates! in 2012 and in TV ads for EA Games' FIFA 11 in 2011), Tracey Ullman's “They Don't Know” (#8 US hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983), Wreckless Eric's “Whole Wide World” (MacDonalds TV ads in 2012) and Desmond Dekker's “Israelites” (a classic hit featured in Drugstore Cowboy).

Set for release on November 29, as a Record Store Day exclusive in North America through indie stories via Razor & Tie Records Ten Big Stiffs is an incredible collector's item, the original sleeve artwork is recreated on each, with the exception of Mint Juleps – Docklands. This is ‘the Stiff 7-inch that never was”. Scheduled to have been a 7-inch release back in the day, it originally got overlooked, so collectors are always asking for it. The set also includes Plasmatics, Wreckless Eric, The Untouchables and more. (Full track list below)

Experience the history of STIFF RECORDS, and all the artists featured on this release, through a series of videos produced by award-winning film-maker NIGEL DICK. The videos will be rolled out over the next month at www.10BigStiffs.com. The British born Dick began his career at Stiff Records as a Press Officer. He has since directed over 300 music videos and seventeen documentaries, won three MTV Awards, three MVPA awards, two Billboard Awards and a Brit Award.

TEN BIG STIFFS – TRACK BY TRACK

PINK FAIRIESBetween The Lines / Spoiling For A Fight

A remnant of London’s psychedelic club scene, Pink Fairies had already been recording for five years prior to joining Stiff, where they recorded their one and only release “Between The Lines” with new guitarist Larry Wallis. The band left Stiff after this single, but Wallis, after joining Lemmy in the first incarnation of Motorhead, became an in-house producer at Stiff.

WRECKLESS ERIC Whole Wide World / Semaphore Signals

Produced by Nick Lowe, who also played bass on the track, “Whole Wide World” is probably the best known track of English rock / new wave singer Wreckess Eric. More than two decades after its release, it was included on Mojo Magazine’s list of best punk rock singles of all time! The song has since been covered by Lightning Seeds, The Monkees, The Proclaimers, and Paul Westerberg, among others.

Stiff spotted ingenious songwriter Jona Lewie as he experienced success as a member of Brett Marvin and The Thunderbolts and off-shoots Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs. His career with Stiff spanned five years, and saw the release of 11 singles, the fourth of which was the synth-pop masterpiece “You’ll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties”, which made it into the UK Top 20.

DESMOND DEKKER Israelites / Why Fight?

A legend in Jamaican music, Desmond Dekker had a successful touring business, but only sporadic hits through the 60’s and 70’s. After joining Stiff, Dave Robinson quickly teamed up Dekker with The Rumour and other Jamaican artists who backed him on new recordings of various old hits to create the album Black & Dekker, which included the single “Israelites”, which reached number 10 in the UK.

PLASMATICS Monkey Suit / Squirm (Live)

Led by the ‘Queen of Shock Rock’, Wendy O Williams, Plasmatics, with their porno sleeves, S&M styling, fusion of punk and heavy metal, were the most parent-frightening and gloriously perverted band a teenager could find in the 80s. Released in 1980, “Butcher Baby” would have been far better suited for the year 2000. A band definitely ahead of its’ time.

TENPOLE TUDORSwords of a Thousand Men / Love and Food

After appearing in the Sex Pistols’ film The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, Malcolm McLaren told Ed Tudor-Pole he could “either form a band or go into pornography”, hence Tenpole Tudor was formed. On Stiff, the band delivered six singles, including the UK chart hit “Swords of a Thousand Men”, as well as two albums.

TRACEY ULLMAN They Don’t Know / The B-Side

As part of the BBC comedy trio Three Of A Kind, Tracey Ullman was already a household name before joining Stiff in 1983 to record 60’s throwback, bubblegum-pop singles. The first three, “Breakaway”, “They Don’t Know”, and “Move Over Darling”, all went Top 10 in the UK, with “They Don’t Know” also hitting number 8 in the U.S.

KIRSTY MACCOLLA New England / Patrick

Originally spotted by Stiff singing backing vocals for the punk band Drug Addix, Kirsty MacColl was signed to a solo deal and released her first single “They Don’t Know” in 1979. After leaving Stiff for Polydor in 1981, singer-songwriter MacColl returned to the label to work with Tracey Ullman, who had a hit with a cover of “They Don’t Know”, on a cover of her own, Billy Bragg’s “A New England”, which reached number 7 on the UK charts. This version includes two extra verses specially written for her by Bragg for the release.

THE UNTOUCHABLES (I Spy For The) FBI / Whiplash

Part of the early 80’s Silver Lake, Los Angeles, ska revival scene, The Untouchables cut their teeth playing covers of the Blue Magoos and the Small Faces. Upon signing to Stiff, they recorded a few singles, including “(I Spy For The) FBI”, which charted at number 59 in the UK.

MINT JULEPS Docklands / Docklands 12” Version

The Stiff 7” That Never Was!

An all-female group centered around the four Picket sisters toured with everyone from Sister Sledge to Billy Bragg, as well as singing backup for Bob Geldof and Dr. Feelgood before joining Stiff. Their soulful, a cappella style fused with earthenware pop songs set them apart from other similar acts. The single “Docklands” has only previously been released as a 12” (BUY264), never before as a 7”.

Temple Of The Dog was essentially a side project of Soundgarden's Chris Cornell & Matt Cameron, Mother Love Bone's Stone Gossard & Jeff Ament and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Without pressure from a record label, the collaboration resulted in a beautiful album dedicated to the memory of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood.

Official vinyl releases of Temple Of The Dog have been in short supply. To celebrate its official reissue we're giving it a 2LP treatment for best audio, with an etch on the D-side. First pressing is a limited run on purple vinyl. Get it while they last!

180 gram audiophile vinyl

Insert

Etch on D-side

First 5000 copies are hand numbered and pressed on purple vinyl

Temple Of The Dog vinyl pressing

Rory Gallagher - Kickback City

Throughout his life Rory Gallagher was a great fan of the crime noir genre and much of his work was inspired by the characters and themes found in the cult detective novels of authors such as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.

Examples of Rory's best crime inspired material are central to the Kickback City album, providing the soundtrack to Ian Rankin's newly created novella 'The Lie Factory'. Rory's lyrics and song titles are cleverly woven in to the story.

The unique album Kickback City is completed by the stunning visuals created by illustrator Timothy Truman (DC Comics / First Comics). Also a life-long Rory Gallagher fan, the musician, writer and illustrator has been working in the graphic novel industry since the 80's and is internationally known for his art design for the Grateful Dead.

Clocking in at just under 54 minutes, It's Alive by The Ramones is jam-packed with classic Ramones material, 28 songs in total. The band recorded this set on New Year's Eve in 1977 at the Rainbow Theater in London, in front of an ecstatic crowd.

The story goes that during their UK tour 4 concerts were recorded, but the New Year's Eve performance was chosen for release as a live album because no less than 10 rows of seats were thrown at the stage after the concert and it was considered the best of the performances at the venue.

In 2005, It's Alive was ranked number 279 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Check out some live footage here: http://youtu.be/OO2ROJ6pr2w
180 gram audiophile vinyl Gatefold sleeve

The Meters - Cabbage Alley

The 4th Meters album marked their departure from Josie Records and was released on the Reprise label in 1972. Cabbage Alley once again proved that The Meters were one of the finest, rawest Funk groups around.

Hailing from the soggy streets of New Orleans, the Meters essentially invented the second line groove, influencing Funk music like no other artist (OK, aside from a singer by the name of James Brown). These cats are essentially one unified rhythm section, with expertly timed drum breaks, bass driven grooves, bluesy chicken scratch guitars and Southern singalong choruses.
180 gram audiophile vinyl Includes bonus tracks "Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug (Push And Shove)" Part I & II

John Mellencamp - Lonesome Jubilee

The follow-up to Scarecrow [MOVLP508], The Lonesome Jubilee (1987) expanded on John Mellencamp's musical and lyrical vision on life in the US heartland. Musically, Mellencamp adds more Country and Folk influences than on its predecessor, including fiddles and accordeons. These rich textures are the basis for Mellencamp's lyrics dealing with America's working class life.

This is a must have album for fans of Steve Earle, CCR, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. 180 gram audiophile vinyl Insert and Gatefold sleeve

Bread - Baby Im A Want You

Bread's 4th album Baby I'm A Want You (1972) was a massive hit, peaking at #3 on the US charts. The core songwriters of Bread, David Gates and James Griffin, delivered a collection of Pop Rock songs that rank among the best that Bread's extensive discography has to offer.

Serious belters like "Mother Freedom" (which also proved a successful single) and "Down On My Knees" with its hard rocking rhythm easily stand the test of time and still sound fresh with every spin. The heavier material is cleverly alternated with softer numbers such as the title track.

This is the first reissue of this classic Rock album since 1973! 180 gram audiophile vinyl and Insert

As musical lunacy goes, things have gotten as crazy as it gets for Death Cab for Cutie since 2002's You Can Play These Songs with Chords compilation. A wildly successful tour with Dismemberment Plan, a collaboration for singer Ben Gibbard with emo-electronic guru Dntel under the Postal Service moniker, and a whole new legion of fans swooning to Gibbard's lyrics as if he were a modern day answer to Kiss Me-era Robert Smith have all amassed considerable hype around Transatlanticism. But the group proves themselves more than equal to the task, answering the call and proving the cynics wrong with their most focused and most mature work in their entire catalog. Transatlanticism wastes absolutely no time and dives in head first with "The New Year," one of the most melodramatic openings to an album since the Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The mellow, mixed-meter percussion and dense atmosphere of "Lightness" is a brilliant lead into the pop-happy "Expo '86" and "The Sound of Settling" before setting up the climatic and intensely dramatic title track. Unconsciously taking a page from Blur's "Sing," the hypnotic drumming and guitar call and responses through the eight-minute climax of the album are backed with a singalong finale that unquestionably will have every audience on the next tour singing along and holding up their lighters. - Rob Theakston (All Music Guide)

Release date: 10/29/2013

Label Barsuk180 Gram Vinyl Records - 2-LP - New

Track ListingLP 11. The New Year2. Lightness3. Title And Registration4. Expo '865. The Sound Of Settling6. Tiny VesselsLP 21. Transatlanticism2. Passenger Seat3. Death Of An Interior Decorator4. We Looked Like Giants5. A Lack Of Color

Crosses (also stylized as †††) is the musical side project of Deftones singer Chino Moreno, Far guitarist Shaun Lopez and Scott Chuck, based in Los Angeles, California, and formed in 2011. EP † is their debut EP.

With a lowdown bass lick, uptown R&B horns and surging organ punctuating a catchy chorus, "Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)" hit the Top 20 like a comet in 1969 and propelled Crow from Midwest club band into national touring act overnight. Thanks in part to covers by Black Sabbath and Ike and Tina Turner, it's one of the most recognizable hits of the era and, inexplicably, one of the few to not make the transition into the digital age. Until now.

Out of print for four decades, Crow's finest recordings are now available again on CD and 180-gram vinyl editions meticulously mastered from the original tapes. Long-suffering Crow fans can at last savor the best of the band's gritty run from 1969-1971, including not only "Evil Woman," but their other charting singles "Cottage Cheese," "Slow Down" and "(Don’t Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the) King of Rock & Roll" -- not to mention deep album cuts like "Keeps Me Running." Both formats also feature a previously unreleased demo cover of the Beatles' "When I Get Home," and the CD edition adds a previously unreleased long version of "Cottage Cheese."